Word for the Week

Revelation.

Week beginning: 21st October, 2018 | By Niazi Fetto | London/France

"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven."

Matthew 16:15- 17 (NIV)

As lawyers and members of today's society we deal almost constantly in information. We obtain it, share it, weigh it, give advice and make decisions based upon it. We look to inform ourselves better professionally and personally; we regard being well-informed as necessary to our competence and to our practical worth, both to clients within our work and to friends and family outside it.

It is necessary to be well-informed about the most important issue in life: the identity of the God of all creation. But it is not enough. Jesus was pleased with Simon Peter's response, not because he had reached a reasonable view on the available evidence, applying the correct standard of proof, but because he knew who Jesus was by revelation from God the Father.

I know a lot about Jesus of Nazareth. I believe the information and evidence I have seen about Him. But today do I know Him? Good information enables me to make good decisions; revelation drives me into wholehearted service.

Let us not just be mental assenters, well-informed about Jesus and able to argue His case, but people to whom He has been revealed, blessed in knowing who we are in Him and equipped by His Spirit to reveal Him to others.